Composite materials, which are made up of mineral, organic, synthetic, or natural fibers or filaments held together in an organic polymer matrix, have excellent static and dynamic mechanical properties (resistance to fatigue) in a low density.
Structural parts generally requiring both optimal mechanical properties and low mass are those with the best possible bond of these materials, and built with precision.
Composite materials are generally fragile. They can be sensitive particularly to shocks (or impacts), which can produce delamination and material integrity loss due to the fact that they contain layering of different materials and can have poor elasticity, with breakage occurring 1% of the time.
Their use in industrial environments therefore requires special precautions, or over-sizing which can cause them to lose part of their bonding.